"Civic and Character Education
(2) The Legislature recognizes that ... (f) the happiness and security of American society relies upon the public virtue of its citizens which requires a united commitment to a moral social order where self-interests are willingly subordinated to the greater common good.
. . .
(3) "[S]tudents shall be taught ... obedience to law[.]"

--Utah Code section 53A-13-109

"We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control."

--Pink Floyd, "Another Brick In The Wall"

As a libertarian, there's much to like about some of the content contained in the State of Utah's "Civic and Character Education" law.

But as a libertarian, even if I were to entertain the belief that gun-run schools were competent to inculcate values such as "respect for and an understanding of the Declaration of Independence," I refuse to impose values I approve of upon others.

Ultimately, that why I support organizations like the Alliance for the Separation of School & State, and efforts to get government out of the education business.

But there are practical reasons to work for educational independence.

The recently reaired ABC News program "Stupid in America: How Lack of Choice Cheats Our Kids Out of a Good Education" reminds us that public government schools continue to fail the children they purport to educate.

Among the more damnable nonsense this election season is the campaign by a government teacher union urging Utahns to "invest in public schools."

Despite the State of Utah's constitution's claim that "public elementary and secondary shall be free" of cost to the education consumer, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Taxpayers, including both those taxpayers who don't consume government-provided educational services and those who do, are forced to fund government schools.

To reframe taxation as "investment" misleads individuals into thinking that they have some type of ownership interest in government schools. We don't.

And if you want to check whether you have an ownership interest in government schools (or any government-owned asset, for that matter), try selling your ownership interest to someone else. Or see how much influence you have, as an "owner," in determining the curriculum of a government school. Or, as part of your due diligence, explore how much freedom a government school affords its "investors" to tour its facilities and evaluate its services.

If you want to make a genuine investment in education, one you can sell if its value decreases or buy more of if its value increases, consider looking at the many publicly-traded companies that offer education and training services.

The government needs three things to thrive and grow:

1. Obedient citizens who will not upset the status quo.

2. Money, which requires citizens who believe the government deserves their money and will utilize it in better ways than they themselves will, or at the very least, citizens who are afraid not to hand their money over.

3. Power: citizens who will willingly subdue fellow citizens who refuse to submit; citizens who will fight wars; citizens who will turn on one another when ordered or asked to do so but will not turn on the government. Without force, the government is powerless. Unless people are willing to act unquestioningly on behalf of the government to enforce its edicts, the government has no power.

--Alliance for the Separation of School & State, The Case for Separation

Today's government schools are fostering this "culture of obedience."

And if you're not concerned about the role of government schools in the ongoing threat to your liberty, you should be.

To advance the cause of liberty, libertarians encourage freedom-lovers to pull their children out of the government schools, and join with others to wrest control of educational services from the political class and return educational responsibilities to civil society.

Yours in liberty,

Rob Latham, Chairman

Libertarian Party of Utah